Undefeated WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis held a media workout at the 5th Street Gym in Miami on Wednesday as he prepares to defend against undefeated WBA 130lb world champion Héctor Luis García on Showtime PPV January 7 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. If Tank wins January 7, he’s in line to face Ryan “Kingry” Garcia on April 15.
Tank Davis: “I think Ryan Garcia’s being lazy not taking a fight before our fight. I don’t know. When he was coming up, he was in the gym and everything and now he’s got some money and a little bit of fame and he’s partying and stuff like that. It happens to the majority of us, but it’s up to him to tighten up before it’s too late…I am hoping that the Ryan Garcia fight will open up doors for everyone to make more big fights. It also shows that I’m not ducking anybody.”
Gervonta Davis
“[Héctor Luis] Garcia is talking about getting the knockout, but we know he can just say that and end up fighting a different way. We don’t really know what’s going to happen until we get into the ring.
“I’m just locked in through the holidays. I’ll do some stuff with my kids, but other than that I’m totally committed to this fight and training for it.
“Going into a fight, any opponent is dangerous. He’s training hard and I know that someone like [Héctor Luis] Garcia isn’t just someone stepping in. He’s been training for me for a long time.
“I can’t just go in there and try to knock everyone out right away. I have to show that I have more than just punching power. I have skills to go along with my boxing IQ.
“Héctor is a sound fighter who’s beat some top guys. He’s a durable guy who’s coming to fight. He’s undefeated and he’s a great opponent. You can’t sleep on him. If you’re sleeping on him, he might put you to sleep.
“Every fight is a steppingstone toward what I want to do. I feel as though this fight with Héctor is an important piece in all of it. I have to put on a good performance so that everybody knows that this is in their future.”
Calvin Ford, Davis’ Trainer
“Camp has been good, we’re just waiting to see everything transform in the ring. Obviously when you’ve been out of the ring for a long period of time, there are little things that you have to go back and correct. It’s also important that we do our best to preserve his body for what he’s got in front of him.
“We’ve got a tough task. This fight is more mental than physical. I think it’s similar to the Jose Pedraza fight because [Héctor Luis] Garcia is also an undefeated Olympian who’s a world champion. We’re just ready to go to that next level.
“I’ve been with Gervonta since the amateurs and now we’re at the level where he’s that guy. I’m looking to see Gervonta put his stamp on his brand as a fighter.
“The fight is going to depend on what [Héctor Luis] Garcia wants to do. Garcia had [former 140-pound champion and Davis opponent] Mario Barrios in his camp and I’m sure he got some pointers from him. I know he’s at a gym with great sparring, so he’s definitely getting a lot of looks. But we don’t know if he can do it inside the ring on the night.”
I think Davis is right about Ryan Garcia and the whole reason why he didn’t want to take the Gesta fight could have been the Christmas celebration. Very unprofessional from any point of view and this wrong action might play a heavy role against him when he faces Gervonta Davis, lets hope he doesn’t come out with a bogus excuse to abort this fight
Sound like a b@tch, Just finding reasons to complain and criticize.. how is it unprofessional to skip a tune-up to preserve a megafight? Your speculation on why he skipped a gimme fight are just guesses tainted by hate.
tank is ducking isaac cruz for another rematch
Tank is fighting this fight at 135. If he wins, he’s fighting Ryan at 136. If wins that too, he could fight Haney at 140, or maybe stay at 135. After fighting Hector Garcia, he may put the regular WBA title behind him. I think Haney would rather fight Tank in a non title fight at 140, rather than give Tank a chance to win all the belts at 135. Tank May fight Cruz by mid to late 2023, but only if it was for a vacant title left behind by Haney. If Ryan beats Tank at 136, you know Haney would be looking for KingRy in a fight over 135.
And Isaac Cruz turned down an order to fight for Shakir Stevenson’s belt. Tank already gave Cruz a shot and beat him.
Cruz has been favored and handed another opportunity that he’s not willing to take.
What exactly has Cruz done except giving a one-handed Davis, a good fight? Tank is fighting good fighters while Cruz is turning down good fights.
I am in agreement here.
Tank may have a point here.
Up to this point, youth and ability have been on Garcias’ side. Will he finally pay the price for his actions??
Everyone criticizes fighters taking easy fights, now you guys are criticizing Garcia for not taking an easy fight .waste of time fight ..what need an exhibition fight for ..have a 10 rd sparring session with judges and ref ti get ready
Z
Because it keeps him in the gym and keeps him sharp. If he ends up not needing it, that’s great..
No it isn’t..it’s to get an easy payday..nothing more ..
Z
Easy payday…
Remember these boxers fight for Money. Its how they pay their bills, buy thing, and make a living, etc…
This kid is turning into more of a clown every day.
Ala Broner, Spence, and the Charlos.
Just shake my head, Mayweather and PBC were and are an anchor around his neck.
Cannot be a future for Tank even if he breaks away.
Kingry really seems like he lost the fighting spirit and if he gets blown away by Tank he will fade away. Tank definatley made some keen observations and is a lot smarter then I thought. I will be very surprised if Kingry can go the distance let alone squeek out a decision. Still a must see fight as both guys have skills and can punch
He’s going to destroy Davis ..too big, fast
Z……zzz’s is what happens when I read your comments. Do better. Entertain us. You’re boring.
More likely it is he who gets destroyed.
So the article not gonna mention the juicing alligations Tank brought up. Ryan wouldnt have been able to cycle off in time for the VADA testing. He wants to stay juiced while preparing for the Tank fight.
Good for Ryan to get the protection.
Typical of a floyd protoge to attempt to discredit another fighter by alleging they are using PED’s. I wonder how much floyd has to pay pac to settle that lawsuit.
@NJ Boxing: It’s reasonable to wonder does Ryan need time to get clean. Why would Ryan not want to do the fight prep, be in the gym, keep in shape, get the payday and build up the hype to the Tank fight.
Would think VADA would do their testing on Ryan regardless if he were to take the tune up fight or not? That would clear the matter up if he could be juicing or not.
Is the Tank/Kingry fight on April 15th a 10 rounder or 12 rounder? Will it be explosive as we think it will be or will it be a boring/lackluster decision by either fighter with a ton of scripted hype to promote it?
Ryan hasn’t fought more than 2 fights a year since about the age of 19. That “privilege” as some see it usually is the result of someone becoming a champion or veteran fighter. My initial reaction to his cancellation is that he knows he needs more time (to either party or to train) and is scared of taking on damage in the tube-up. And to garner more PPV buys from boxing fans you would want to actually confirm that Ryan is even a REAL contender. Boxrec still has him #13. The tuneup would help legitimize his selling this fight. It’s a easy sell based on his popularity but still not on his resume. Tank’s underwhelming PPV opponents for the most part, not all make some want to skip purchasing a fight vs Ryan. If Ryan actually fought semi-regularly as he should in Jan then there would be some momentum and a TRUE top 10 ranking to persuade me to watch. You know if he loses badly/quickly vs Tank then there will be the “RING RUST” talk. So man up Ry, stop toeing the line of retirement.
He’s scared to death and his mouth caused him to write a check his ass can’t cash. The fight will not happen.
Gesta is old and way past it and was never great to begin with. The fight was pointless. He needed a better opponent.
Stay off Isaac Cruz’s jock-strap some of you bozos on this thread. He gave a good account of himself against Tank, but lost fair and square, period. Garcia better keep that chin down or his head might get popped off like a pez dispenser by Tank. I don’t see this fight happening three months after Tank fights in April anyway; that ain’t how the fight game works these days. They’ll fight in June, watch.
Spot on Davis. Garcia needs a fight before their bout. You just don’t get a chance to shake off any type of rust against Tank Davis. It’s a crazy strategy, especially at such a young age.
Davis is scared. He needs data from a recent Garcia fight to prepare his strategy, though he can’t control Garcia’s decisions. Gervonta is really in fear of losing his zeroes. Not for nothing that he says that he won’t be in the business for too long. And he has yet to accomplish anything good against elite opposition…
“Davis is scared” and yet Ryan is the one pulling out of fights. Good answer kid SMH
Tank is an elite champ but to have a tune-up fight on ppv ? Ryan maybe is trying to clean up his juice or he’s building up interest for the big fight, who knows, but this getting old. What we noticed in every boxing weight class is an over diluted use of ppv with limited buys and very little money coming in.I guess this is modern day boxing where money is more important than the fans interest.
Ryan Garcia is showing us a sign of things to come. He pulls out when the pressure is on. Tank vs Ryan will not happen. Ryan calls guys out to stay relevant and doesn’t fight them.
A tuneup fight for Ryan may be too risky of a chance to take. He figures if he might lose he’ll lose against Davis while still making the big payday